Is a Tracy Chapman Cover the Favorite for the Best Country Solo Performance Grammy?
Leading up to the Grammy nominations on Nov. 10, Rolling Stone is breaking down 16 different categories. For each, we’re predicting the nominees, as well as who will (and who should) win on Grammy night.
The category is about the vocal performance, not the lyrics — which is what makes Chris Stapleton, an eight-time Grammy winner (out of 17 nominations), so hard to beat. But Luke Combs’ performance of “Fast Car” is both faithful and respectful (he doesn’t even try to change the gender of the song’s narrator to his own). Bringing a Tracy Chapman song to the top of the country charts is a feel-good story Grammy voters are unlikely to resist. On the spoiler side, newbie Megan Moroney’s charming performance of “Tennessee Orange” may be in the conversation, along with Kelsea Ballerini, who is delivering the songs off Rolling Up the Welcome Mat to a rabid audience on her tours. “If you think about what’s happened, it’s an almost Taylor Swift-like reaction in concert,” CMT’s Leslie Fram says of Ballerini’s fans. “It’s extraordinary.”
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Luke Combs
“Fast Car”
WILL WIN
SHOULD WIN
Combs has professed fond memories of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 breakthrough ballad: His dad would play “Fast Car” all the time in the truck. The country superstar introduced his fans to the song in his concert performances and finally recorded his own faithful version for Gettin’ Old. The result has been one of the biggest country songs of the year to date. Even Chapman herself took note, telling Billboard, “I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there.” “This is a cultural moment with ‘Fast Car,’” says Fram. “He would always cover that song live, and the reaction was already there. Fans were saying, ‘You have to put that out.’ And look what’s happened?” Adds Buzz Brainard, a host on SiriusXM’s The Highway, “‘Fast Car’ is one of my most-requested songs this year.”
Ashley McBryde
“Light on in the Kitchen”
Ashley McBryde announced her latest album, The Devil I Know, not with a hard-charging country rocker but with this gentle ballad that shows off her heartrending voice. It’s a lesson song that delivers a message of reassurance. “We talk a lot about Miranda Lambert’s ‘The House That Built Me,’ and this is one of those songs that could end up being a defining song of the decade,” Fram says. “It’s a great country song.”
Lainey Wilson
“Watermelon Moonshine”
Few artists in today’s country music have as instantly recognizable a voice as Wilson. On a radio dial full of put-on accents, hers is an honest-to-goodness drawl. That’s what makes “Watermelon Moonshine” so intoxicating. Sure, the coming-of-age lyrics are nearly universal, but it’s Wilson’s vocal that elevates this to a Grammy contender. “She is so relatable, and I think the format was waiting for that,” says Fram. “It’s even in the way she talks about things. That authenticity comes through her music.”
Chris Stapleton
“White Horse”
There are few absolutes in Grammy predictions, but if Chris Stapleton has new music out around awards season, he’s going to score a nomination. So expect to see this imagery-rich Western rocker in the field. Stapleton has once-in-a-generation vocal cords, and they’ll be resonating in voters’ ears. “Vocally, you can’t beat Chris Stapleton,” says Brainard, who adds that “White Horse” is distinct from past Stapleton contenders: “He’s come out with some really great tearful ballads, but this is just a rocker.”
Tyler Childers
“In Your Love”
Childers, the poet of Appalachia, may not be mainstream, but he’s no stranger to this category: He was nominated in 2019 for “All Your’n.” That shows awareness on the part of Grammy voters, who have also likely seen the emotional, inclusionary music video accompanying “In Your Love,” which adds another dimension to this love song with its depiction of a same-sex romance. “I’m a big fan, and I’ve been pushing to have him played on The Highway for a while, going back to ‘All Your’n,’” says Brainard. “This is a beautiful song, and you can’t not think about the video too, which is just amazing. That may not play into the Country Solo Performance category, but that’s part of it for me.”
This story is adapted from Rolling Stone’s fourth annual Grammy Preview issue, released ahead of the start of first-round voting on Oct. 13. We featured SZA on the cover, spoke to some of the year’s biggest artists about the albums and singles that could earn them a statue come February, made our best predictions for the nominees in the top categories, and more, providing a full guide to what to watch for leading up to the 2024 awards.
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